About Us

Population Health: Striving to Help You Live Healthier

In line with our vision of advancing the well-being of the people of Wisconsin and beyond, UW Health is actively working to help you live healthier.

We are just as committed to preventing illness and injury as we are to curing it. Because we believe that the best medical treatment is not needing treatment at all. That's why we are as focused on daily preventive care as we are to life-saving hospital care.

We've expanded our nurse-led care coordination program to specifically support those with chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension through one-on-one education, goal-setting, coaching and support. Now every one of our primary care clinics has an onsite RN Care Coordinator to offer this level of support to those who need it most. (Read Kevin's story)

We've introduced a care management program to partner with patients with more complex needs, coordinating care and providing support services.

We're constantly leveraging the tools of data and technology to identify opportunities to improve the quality of our care and health outcomes for our distinct populations of patients, an approach referred to as population health management.

We also recognize that health is not just driven by clinical care (comprising only an estimated 20 percent of health), but by outside factors like where people live, education and behaviors, such as diet, smoking and exercise. That's why we're continually assessing the needs of our community and forming community partnerships to influence the many other factors that contribute to health - outside of our walls.

These latest efforts build on a long-standing tradition of leadership in population health and public health.

The University of Wisconsin was the first in the nation to integrate its schools of medicine and public health, establishing the first School of Medicine and Public Health in 2006. The UW Population Health Institute is nationally recognized for its research, including the annual County Health Rankings, policy work and other knowledge to inform practice and programming. One of its leading scholars, David Kindig, MD, PhD, authored the original and one of the most frequently cited text books on population health. UW is also world-renowned for its scientific research, which seeks to discover new treatments and cures for better health.